Fortuna Sittard vs Excelsior: Goals Meet Leaks in Sittard

Fortuna Sittard beat Excelsior 2-1 in February, and that result captures the contrast heading into Sunday’s return fixture at the Fortuna Sittard Stadion: a side that has found a way to score against a side that keeps leaking goals.

Context & stakes

Fortuna sit sixth in the 18-team Eredivisie with 15 points from nine matches. Excelsior are tenth on 11, four points adrift, so a home win would build on a useful gap in the middle of the table while keeping the visitors in a scrap for position.

Form

Fortuna’s recent run reads DDWLW. They have scored eight goals in their last five league games, an average of 1.6, though they have also conceded ten. Excelsior’s sequence of LLDLD tells a harsher story. They have scored only six in that span, and their defence has shipped fifteen, three per match. Excelsior’s back line is the weak point that Fortuna will want to target.

Head-to-head

The rivalry has been close. Fortuna won 2-1 at home in February and 5-2 at home in March 2024. Excelsior won 1-0 away in October 2025 and 3-0 at home in May 2023, with a 2-2 draw in August 2023 between them. Recent meetings have produced goals, and Fortuna’s record in this fixture has been the more productive of the two.

Team news

Fortuna face a sizeable list of absences. Striker R. Bayram is out with a knee injury, I. Marquez is missing with an injury, and Y. Oukili is sidelined with a groin problem. J. Dahlhaus is an open question, listed as inactive.

Our prediction

On paper, this is a match between a side with a more productive attack and one whose defence is in trouble. PreviaXI’s model also gives Fortuna a slight edge, which fits the football picture: the hosts have the better recent scoring record, and Excelsior’s away results have not been convincing. We expect a game that could be open, with Fortuna’s chances coming more freely and Excelsior likely to pose a threat on the break.

Fortuna Sittard 2-1 Excelsior